Best programs to become a sales and related worker
You do not need a college degree to become a sales and related worker. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Selling Skills and Sales Operations; Retailing and Retail Operations; and Special Products Marketing Operations (IPEDS completions).
4 college programs at 114 schools train for this job, graduating 3,028 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $48,280 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About sales and related workers, all other
All sales and related workers not listed separately.
Best programs to study to become a sales and related worker
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.1804 | 1,847 | 61.0% | 85 | $50,281 | $24,250 |
| 2 | CIP 52.1803 | 960 | 31.7% | 22 | $50,281 | $24,250 |
| 3 | CIP 52.1909 | 204 | 6.7% | 8 | $35,157 | $26,750 |
| 4 | CIP 52.1901 | 17 | 0.6% | 1 | $35,157 | $26,750 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What sales and related workers, all other earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | $48,140 | 520 | 0.29× | 8 | 407 |
| Utahmoderate | $59,170 | 810 | 0.78× | 4 | 269 |
| Indiana | $49,320 | 770 | 0.40× | 5 | 192 |
| Washington | $75,100 | 2,840 | 1.33× | 5 | 191 |
| Pennsylvania | $42,450 | 3,340 | 0.92× | 5 | 162 |
| South Carolinalimited | $42,210 | 480 | 0.35× | 2 | 162 |
| Oregonlimited | $45,080 | 970 | 0.82× | 2 | 153 |
| Kentuckylimited | $49,990 | 210 | 0.17× | 2 | 149 |
| Ohio | $37,870 | 1,400 | 0.42× | 11 | 148 |
| Kansasmoderate | $30,470 | 490 | 0.57× | 3 | 147 |
| Illinois | $50,960 | 1,750 | 0.48× | 14 | 133 |
| Iowamoderate | $35,250 | 950 | 1.02× | 3 | 123 |
| Minnesota | $38,350 | 940 | 0.53× | 8 | 114 |
| Californiamoderate | $52,810 | 28,480 | 2.61× | 4 | 104 |
| North Carolinalimited | $38,470 | 680 | 0.23× | 1 | 96 |
| Oklahomalimited | $29,630 | 250 | 0.24× | 2 | 86 |
| Texaslimited | $38,170 | 11,400 | 1.35× | 2 | 82 |
| Georgiamoderate | $51,570 | 3,610 | 1.23× | 4 | 47 |
| North Dakotalimited | $49,810 | 340 | 1.32× | 2 | 45 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $48,190 | 1,430 | 0.73× | 3 | 36 |
| New York | $55,270 | 1,400 | 0.24× | 5 | 33 |
| Michiganmoderate | $44,160 | 1,210 | 0.46× | 3 | 25 |
| Alabamalimited | $46,660 | 270 | 0.21× | 1 | 24 |
| New Jerseylimited | $74,520 | 4,190 | 1.63× | 2 | 22 |
| Arizonalimited | $47,440 | 770 | 0.40× | 2 | 19 |
| Idaholimited | $34,400 | 280 | 0.55× | 1 | 17 |
| Missourilimited | $34,270 | 1,390 | 0.79× | 1 | 9 |
| Coloradolimited | $60,670 | 6,340 | 3.68× | 1 | 7 |
| Massachusettslimited | $51,620 | 850 | 0.39× | 2 | 7 |
| Nebraskalimited | $37,760 | 650 | 1.06× | 2 | 7 |
| West Virginialimited | $30,790 | 180 | 0.44× | 1 | 5 |
| Floridalimited | $40,180 | 7,790 | 1.31× | 1 | 3 |
| Mississippilimited | $32,700 | 80 | 0.12× | 1 | 2 |
| Wyominglimited | $31,870 | 50 | 0.31× | 1 | 2 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
How to get in
How to become a sales and related worker
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 4 majors mapped to Sales and Related Workers, All Other4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 52.1803Retailing and Retail Operations
- 52.1804Selling Skills and Sales Operations
- 52.1901Auctioneering
- 52.1909Special Products Marketing Operations
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a sales and related worker?+
You do not need a college degree to become a sales and related worker. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Selling Skills and Sales Operations; Retailing and Retail Operations; and Special Products Marketing Operations (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a sales and related worker?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Selling Skills and Sales Operations; Retailing and Retail Operations; and Special Products Marketing Operations (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this job, which together graduate about 3,028 people a year.
How much do sales and related workers, all other earn?+
The median is $48,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $29,720 at the 10th percentile to $97,910 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for sales and related workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +3.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 16,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
114 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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